High chairs are commonly used to seat infants and young children during meals. High chairs have a seat for the infant or young child, and have a tray upon which the child's meal is placed. The tray is securely coupled to the frame of the chair.
Young children often tend to be messy eaters. In addition to getting food all over themselves, their bibs and cloths, they throw and knock food off the high chair tray. The food that is displaced from the high chair tray lands on the floor and other nearby objects such as furniture, rugs, etc. The floor and other nearby objects must then be cleaned up, which creates extra work for the child's parents. Baby foods in thin paste form in particular seem to be susceptible of being displaced from the tray and onto surrounding objects. These same pasty foods are difficult to clean up. Occasionally, the displaced food permanently stains the floor or nearby objects, damaging the looks and value of the floor or objects.